Propelled by Connecticut likely voters who say they are "angry" with government, former
wrestling executive Linda McMahon, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, is closing in on
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the Democrat, and now trails just 49 - 46 percent,
according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 51 - 45 percent Blumenthal lead in a September 14 likely voter
survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll, conducted by live
interviewers.

In today's survey, 4 percent are undecided and 9 percent of voters who name a
candidate say they could change their mind by Election Day. Blumenthal leads 89 - 9 percent
among Democrats. McMahon leads 80 - 16 percent among Republicans. Independent voters
shift from 47 - 46 percent for Blumenthal September 14 to 49 - 44 percent for McMahon
today. In a gender reversal, women back Blumenthal 56 - 39 percent while men back
McMahon 52 - 44 percent.

The 33 percent of likely voters who say they are "angry" with the federal government
support McMahon 78 - 20 percent.

"With five weeks to go, the Connecticut Senate race is very close. Attorney General
Richard Blumenthal is ahead by only a statistically insignificant 3 points. Blumenthal has to
be concerned about Linda McMahon's momentum. He can hear her footsteps as she closes in
on him," said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.

"McMahon clearly is capitalizing on the anger that one-third of voters are feeling
toward the federal government."
Quinnipiac University Poll/September 28, 2010 - page 2

"But McMahon has to be concerned that voters are still divided on her," Dr. Schwartz
added. "There continues to be a big gender gap, as we've seen in other states such a New
York and Pennsylvania. Women are going with the Democrat and men are siding with the
Republican.

"Usually debates don't make much of a difference, but in a race this close next month's
debates could be a game changer."

Connecticut likely voters approve 68 - 29 percent of the job Blumenthal is doing as
attorney general and have a 51 - 41 percent favorable opinion of him.

Offered four choices to describe their feelings about the federal government:

2 percent say enthusiastic;

21 percent say satisfied;

43 percent say dissatisfied;

33 percent say angry.

Of the 95 percent of Connecticut likely voters who have seen McMahon TV ads, 56
percent find them annoying and 40 percent find them informative. Among all voters, 54
percent say McMahon's TV, radio and direct mail advertising is excessive, while 37 percent
say it is about right.

Of the 87 percent who have seen Blumenthal TV ads, 54 percent find them informative
and 42 percent find them annoying. Blumenthal's advertising has been about right, 49 percent
say, while 33 percent say he hasn't advertised enough and 11 percent call it excessive.

"Linda McMahon has spent about $22 million on her campaign, but is it overkill? A
majority of voters say that it has been excessive. In contrast, many Democrats feel that
Blumenthal hasn't been doing enough on the advertising front," Schwartz said.

"As McMahon has flooded the airwaves, many voters are saying, 'Enough already!'"

From September 21 - 26, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,083 Connecticut likely
voters with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for
research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-
5201, or follow us on Twitter.

6. If the election for United States Senator were being held today, and the
candidates were Richard Blumenthal the Democrat and Linda McMahon the
Republican, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) If you had to choose today,
would you vote for Blumenthal or McMahon? This table includes "Leaners".

15. Thinking about the McMahon campaign's amount of advertising on television,
radio, and through mail, do you think Linda McMahon's campaign advertising has
been excessive, just about right, or not enough?

20. Thinking about the Blumenthal campaign's amount of advertising on
television, radio, and through mail, do you think Richard Blumenthal's campaign
advertising has been excessive, just about right, or not enough?

32. I am going to mention four phrases and ask you which one best describes how
you feel about the way the federal government works. Do you feel enthusiastic,
satisfied but not enthusiastic, dissatisfied but not angry, or angry?